Norovirus restrictions lifted at healthcare center

A Novato nursing home returned to normal operations Wednesday night after a norovirus outbreak had kept the healthcare facility under restrictions since last week, according to center administrators.

Eighty-one cases, including 65 residents and 16 staff members, of the gastro intestinal illness were reported at the Country Villa Novato Healthcare Center since Nov. 10, said Shanna Cronan, senior public health nurse with the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control program in the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services.

Visitors and admissions to the facility at 1565 Hill Road had been prohibited since Nov. 15, Cronan said.